A Change Would Do Me Good
by Injutsu
Summary: Hope for a better life leads Naruto to take up Princess Haruna's offer to join her in her quest to rejuvenate Greenery Country
1. A Change Would Do Me Good

A Change Would Do Me Good

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any similarities to any other media piece.

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Naruto watched as the once spoiled and self-centered princess and her loyal guard paid their respects to their fallen comrades and friends, the very same people the princess had previously deemed as useless or simple cannon fodder. They had built a small shrine to give thanks to Kikunojou and all the others who selflessly gave their life to protect their princess, believing that her well being was worth far more than any other single persons for vitality of their country.

Everyone kept stealing glances at the young blond, eager to figure what was bothering him, some with curiosity and others worry, this was the longest anyone had ever seen Naruto go without some sort of huge outburst or commotion. Naruto was uninterested in the entire situation, or at least he appeared that way; really his mind was going a mile a second, processing everything he had ever done and his life and coming up with one figure, the grand total of his existence. Earlier, sometime after the fierce battles, the princess had pulled both Shizune and Naruto away from the group, wanting to discuss something important.

The scene replayed over and over in his head, never would he have though he would affect someone so much; sure he had helped and effected many people in the past but he doubted he would ever see any of them again, each of them thanked him properly for helping in the way that only someone like him could and continued on with their life a better person. But here was a person who needed, maybe needed was too strong a word, wanted him to continue helping her, and all her people; he offered her something not many had, a truly kind heart, while she offer him something no other person besides Old Man Sandame had offered him since he could remember, a chance at a better life.

_"__Shizune__-san," __Haruna__ spoke softly, att__racting curious looks from her two saviors. "Sorry, but I have another favor to ask ok __Konoha__."_

_Shizune__ looked surprised but answered still, sounding a little unsure, not like she could officially grant request, that was the __Hokage's__ job, but she would help in any way she could. __"What is it __Haruna-sama__?"_

_Haruna__ took a deep breath before continuing, casting a quick glance over to the orange bound ninja to make sure he was paying attention, he was involved in this after all. "It is my obligation and my personal privilege to uphold my father's last wishes and restore Greenery Country to a time of peace without worry."_

_The other two were now giving her there complete attention, well, as complete as one could get with that freaky head piece drawing attention like a moth to fire. Really, why did all the higher ups have to wear some weird hat that looked like they bought it at a yard sell; whatever, __Naruto__ sighed, as long as he didn't have to wear anything like such he wouldn't complain. _

_Mistaking __Naruto's__ sigh for one of boredom she decided to cut to the point. "In order to restore peace to Greenery Country, it needs a Feudal Lord; however, I do not feel that I am completely ready to lead so __many. So__, I would like to ask __Konoha__to lend me one of their ninja for awhile__," she hesitated, searching for words__"__to help me to not completely run my father's country into the ground."_

_"Oh." How __was that possible, assuming __Haruna__ would put so much trust in a stranger is doubtful. The only people __Haruna__ knew from __Konoha__ that would qualify to give such vital advice would be __herself ,__ maybe __Shikamaru__Haruna__ knew neither over an introduction. She could also rule out the three __Gennin__ who were assigned this mission; __Choji__ spent barely any time with __Haruna__Hinata__ spent a little more but she had leadership obligations waiting for her back in __Konoha__Naruto__ spent the most time with her so he could also be ruled __ou-'No__!' __Shizune's__ eyes widened in realization.__ It couldn't be, anyone but him, she couldn't take him, 'He's t__o__o important to me…I mean __Konoha__.'__ why would she want him?_

_"Yes. I want you to lend me __Naruto__-kun." This surprised the __young __leaf __nin__, who had just now began to drag his mind back into focus__. "Please, __Naruto__-kun__." She clasps his hands within her own and stared into his sapphire eyes with a pleading look. _

_"Why me?"__Naruto__ asked, still confused. _

_"__I know with you by my side I can't fail__."__ Such confidence in her words, she spoke as if __iot__ were fact rather than theory. "I don't want to fail my people…again."_

_Shizune__ looked on in uncertainty, there was no way __Naruto__ would take her up on her request, right? He had too much left to accomplish back in __Konoha__, right? He had everything back in __Konoha__; his friends, his dream, his favorite ramen shop…his curse__. She mentally tallied all the good and the bad as best she could, giving each imaginary points as such and found that the good and bad equaled in her mind, but she herself would have probably chosen to accept her offer if she were in his shoes. _

_Naruto__ looked over to __Shizune__ for guidance, __she was his first in a line of many anyways, not like __Jiraya__ or __Tsunade__ were the king and queen of good advice, __Kakashi__, maybe but he wasn't here right now and someone his age, yeah right__Shizune__ was the only one he could always __ely__ on…well, almost always, she was biting her nails with a nervous look in her eyes, she would be no help at this time__. His__ first thought was to reject __Haruna's__offer__, somewhat mean when someone put so much faith into you but he still had things to accomplish back home;__"I don't know." He answered unsurely._

_"Promise you'll think about it."_

He agreed, Haruna accepted, a maybe over a no is always better in the long run. Shizune had been avoiding him ever sense, he could tell even if no one else could; of course it's not like they were on real close terms sense a certain Incident but that wasn't important right now. Right now he needed advice and could find only one person to go to.

"Hey, lazy ass." Said person was sleeping or resting, he was sure which, nobody could, in a patch of grass. He had chosen a opportune moment to sneak away from the group and participate in one of his favorite activities, doing nothing. He received no answer but he was sure the lazy Chunin knew he was there. "Hey!" Shikamaru rolled over but gave no signs of compliance. Guess he was on his own.

He sat down next to the lazy good for nothing, he wouldn't be any help in deciding what he should do but a little company went a long way, especially when making such big life decisions, this could affect many people. But going on things so ambiguous as faith, want, and need were to complicated for the young blond, he would use the best system for deciding what to do he had ever been introduced to.

_"Sorry Sakura-__chan__, I couldn't bring him back to you." __Naruto__ was on the verge of tears. _

_"__It's__ ok __Naruto__, next __time,__ we'll bring him back, together!" __Naruto__ smiled as the girl embraced him for the first time but his sullied mood returned when he remembered why she was embracing him. "It's a promise."_

'He's gone and she still flocks over him. I was hoping she would change and she has, but the reasons for her change aren't good ones; all she see's is him when she is training, his smile at her strength, his smirk at her loyalty, his passion for her…passion?' "ha," he yelled out loud, startling the sleepind Chunin beside him. 'The only passion he has is for his own dark ambition.' One vote for leaving.

_"__Naruto__…how about after you finish…I take you __out __for ramen__..my__ treat__." __Iruka__ smiled as the blond __resumed__his punishment with renewed vigor. _

'The first person to accept me as me, the only person who would never betray me no matter what's at stake, I would stay for him.' One vote for staying.

_Kakashi__ stood on__-_

Wait wait wait…did I just have a gay moment? 'No.' couldn't be. 'Must just be my imagination.' I hope.

_Kakashi__ stood on__Naruto's__ window seal, __one hand holding that which should never be touched and the other __holding out a bowl of vegetables." You'll never get any bigger if you don't eat right." He smiled behind his mask__, dropped the bowl on the table and took the blonds homemade ramen__ before disappearing in a puff of smoke. _

'Kakashi, I never know what he is really thinking. He worse than a girl that way but I guess he would care if I left, not like he bounded with Sakura at all; I'm practically the only person he would intentionally seek out, he barely talks to the other Jounins or the Hokage save for missions. ' Two votes for staying.

_Shizune__ and __Ino__ both kissed __Naruto__ on the cheek after he had given them their favorite flowers, __how he knew of the preferred flowers neither knew, __but received a giggle from __Shizune__ and a punch from __Ino__ when he also gave them a free ramen for a day pass. _

'No explanation needed, that's a staying vote.' Three votes for staying. "Just three?" He yelled, fully waking his prone associate. Four votes for staying?

Shikamaru gave the blond a once over, noting the concentrated look on his turned into an angered one then back again before turning into one of satisfaction. He sighed a troublesome before rolling back over into dream and cloud land.

'So, nine votes it is.' Idiot. 'Whatever.'

_Ten-ten had tied him to a training post to have a human target to __trow__- _

'Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, that wasn't a good memory.' Two votes leaving. "Weapon throwing bitch."

_Waking up next to __Shizune__ 'We were really plastered that night, it was only my second time drinking. She still can't look me in the eyes, probably thinks she's a pedophile of something.'_

'Best night I ever had but nothing will ever come of it. Maybe it's best to let sleeping dogs lie, but maybe thing would have turned out differently if I was a little older…maybe…maybe…maybe I shouldn't dwell on _what if's_ so much.' Put that one in the maybe pile.

_Shikamaru__ using his shadow bind to force __Naruto__ to grope __Ino__, so she spends the day chasing __Naruto__ instead of bothering him. _

'Ino, I don't know; one minute where getting along fine, talking and laughing then when someone else comes along she tells me to get lost…then there's him,' he looked darkly on his friend's lazy teammate.

'Danger!' Shikamaru woke with a start. 'My end is near.' Shikamaru looked around for any signs of danger that could have escaped his enhanced senses, but no matter how much he looked all he could see was the all to happy face of the usually energetic ninja. 'Why was he being so…so…un-Naruto-ish today?' maybe he was sick…or dying…maybe both…either way Naruto was annoying and he would rather not have him around. It sucked that both his teammates practically adored the little annoyance and dragged him wherever they went. "Annoyances." He turned over back into the land no troublesome people placed in his virtual reality.

'I don't know where she lies but I definitely know I'm not on either of his list. I'd rather have him hate me then ignore me.' It was a fact, not a statement. One for leaving.

_Tsunade__ slipped the necklace around his neck and kissed him on the forehead after he had defended her against __Kabuto__ with the _Rasengan_. The last thing he saw was a sword coming out of __Tsunade's__ back__ before blacking out_

'Tsunade-obaachan. First she happy to have me around then she tries to get rid of me any chance she gets. I'm not that annoying…am i?' No, no, no…mustn't feel sorry for other people for putting up with me. 'Dam old Hag, I'll never understand her.'

_"__Naruto__, I know you already received something from __Tsunade__ but this is from me. It __a special thing to share your students first taste__ of sake with them." He poured __Naruto__ some sake from his canteen. _

_"__AAAh__, it burns" __Jiriya__ could only chuckle at his students antics. "Were you trying to kill me Sensei?!"_

_"__Sen__…__sei__?" he just stared at __Naruto__ for a long time. He smiled at the blond, who was currently chugging down half his bottle of sake. "Hey, that's mine." He chased him for over an hour but never even got to __taste the sake he had saved for his student. He picked the __unconscious__Naruto__ up and carried him back to their hotel for a well deserved rest. __Another maybe._

Unreliable, perverse, adept writer, even if for the wrong reasons, and a seasoned ninja. 'Jiraya. Some say he's the strongest ninja know today, they say I'm should be respectful and honored that one such as him is willing to sacrifice his time to teach a little street urchin like me. Ha! I've made more progress in a day then in the year he has had me under his tutelage; the only thing he has shown me that has any worth is that infernal attack of the forth which I still can't perform with help.My greatest weapon and it useless without the use of both my hands…its almost laughable.' Great…I'm laughing at myself now…am I that pathetic. Maybe.

_Seven year old __Shikamaru__Kiba__Choji__, and __Naruto__ all jumped out the window, running from the furious __Iruka__. The all wound up at the park and played until one by one, their parents came to pick them up, leaving __Naruto__ alone. _

Let sleeping dogs lie, nothing will ever come of it. Was I just fooling myself? Were they really my friends? Did they feel the same way of me that I wanted them too? Or were they like the rest, just using me till I held no more use? 'People change.' I can't expect people to stay the same and I shouldn't want to. That what makes us alive…our unpredictability, but that doesn't make it hurt any less to lose a friend. Three votes for leaving.

_Sakura, __Kakashi__, and __Sasuke__ leaving him tied to the training post after they had passed their __Gennin__ exam._

'I had to wait for Iruka to get off of work to untie me.' nine votes for leaving. 'What, I almost starved to hunger for crying out loud!'

_Kiba__ almost pushing him off the __Hokage__ Mountain__ after he __suck__Akamaru__ on him_

I'd like to let some dogs lie. He thought menacingly.

_Neiji__ closing his __tenketsu's__ after he admitted he thought __Neiji__ was a girl. _

'I had to wait outside the Hyuga manor for seven hours until some little Hyuga girl came out to open them back up for me.' No other Hyuga would even listen to his request/plea as he didn't know how to get them back open back then.

_Jiraya__ actually pushing him off the __Hokage__ Mountain.__Even__ if it did help him __summon the demonic charka of the fox…once,__falling into a bottomless ravine wasn't exactly his idea of fun._

'Not like the bastard fox is useful…only gives it up if it knows it's going to die. HOW I WOULD LOVE TO SHOVE A FLAMING RASENGAN UP ITS FURRY…anyway' he calmed, taking a few deep breathes. 'flaming Rasengan huh.' Can you say potential? He stored that thought for another time.

_Tsunade__ punching him through walls repeatedly._

'I'd like to knock her block off for once.'

_Sakura berating him for something that wasn't his fault._

'I wonder how short her hair could get before she cries.' Dark? 'Maybe I'm thinking a little too darkly today…not like they don't have it coming.'

_Jiraya__ repeatedly leaving him to do research on his het book._

'Not like I expected much from him anyway. I don't need him…I don't need anyone…I never did…I can gain recognition on my own without help from anyone if I have to.'

_Sasuke__ shoving his _Chidori_ through his chest not once, not twice, but three times.__'Well I did stand in his way of his goal; no, he tried to kill me, but I was willing to kill him too._

'Hn.' It always ends with that, no matter how many times I go over the life I've lived this moment seems to define dominate me. Why is that this moment over all others has so much control over the way I live and see my life? I wonder what people would think if they ever found out what he did to me back at End Vally or whatever it was called.' Doesn't matter, nothing matters, not voting, not my precious people, not everyone who detest me, not my dreams or…'

His dream. The reason he endured all the taunts and insults thrown his way over the years. It was the reason he was able to suffer through near complete isolation for the first seven years of his life, only getting monthly visits from the busy Hokage. Ever since the old geezer told him about what it was to be the leader of a village he knew what he wanted to be the Hokage, he could almost taste it.

_Sunny day, cool weather and he was drooling over a stack of papers he had neglected to read. It didn't matter, his __pink haired __secretary would soon be in to wake him and scold him for sleeping on the job. _

_The scene flashes to later in the day, where his personal special __Jounin__ report in a successful mission. The curvy blond would ask about his activities at home while the giant among men would__ kindly lift the intruding gossip center by her __Jounin__ vest and invite him and his family over for dinner later that night. _

_Once again the scene changes to a beautiful house…beautiful __kentan__ littering up the walk way as a small child, female, dark hair, orange blouse over black shorts __and a smile that could cross the sky __runs up to the tired blond, giggling happily as he tosses her into the air. He holds her close, placing a kiss on her forehead, causing her to erupt with more laughter at the affection she had been waiting for the entire day. _

_A cough signaled him to the presence of another…of course he didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He shifted the little bundle of joy, who was currently trying to hold in her excitement and failing miserably, to his left arm as the other__ moved under his right to bask in the warmth he emitted. He pulled his dark haired __other __close__, letting the sweet scent of __jasmine, his personal favorite, __enthrall__ his senses.__ 'She must have just gotten out of the bath.'__ She turned to him, deep __cerulean__ locks with dark chocolate as the two of them move closer; they're millimeters apart as a withheld giggle breaks free from his right, __he breaks the trance, she smiles, he chooses to ignore the laughter as it holds no truth of stopping anything soon, again he turns to capture he trance, their lips are so close he could feel the heat from her slow breathes__, his eyes close… it's over._

"No!" as fast as the scenes came they're gone, "Tsk." 'Just when it was getting to the best part.'leaving him with the pain of loss and the odd smell of Jasmine in the air. But in truth, what did he have to lose, that _possibility_? It hadn't happened and it probably never would…he was just asking for trouble to expect so much; people would talk she had told him. It would never work she had told him. The age difference was too great, you would never accomplish your dream, it was a mistake. All the things she said, they…they…'what am I doing to myself?'

Even when something is important…don't I deserve to be selfish sometimes…I can't always give and give and repeat the same thing day after day, year after year and expect something different to happen, 'am I insane? ' No. I change would do me good.

Some would be sad…some would calibrate…but he didn't care about either of those. All he cared about was that for one moment in his life he had made a selfish decision and did what he wanted rather that what he thought other would want of him. His destiny…his story…it was all going to be in his hands from now on…and nobody was going to take it away from him again.

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**Back with Everyone Else**

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"Haruna-hime." Naruto called, completely forgoing any greeting or explanation on where he had been for the last half of the day. The sun was going down and everyone was packing the remaining supplies but none were too busy to listen to the conversation of the princess once she shouted for joy…hugging everyone's _favorite _hyperactive ninja.

Once everyone had gathered they were told the full story.

"Why?!" Choji wined. "Was it something I said? Was it something I did?"

"No!" Naruto yelled in frustration, hopping on one foot while trying to get the much stronger Choji to let go of his other leg.

"It's Ino isn't it? We can kick her out of our group, I never liked her anyway." Choji pleaded in desperation.

"Choji!" he countered.

"Please don't leave me alone with her…it'll be the death of me."

Naruto rolled his eyes, talk about over reactions. "Ino's not that bad, you'll be fine."

"I'm doomed!!"

Naruto offered a sincere pat on the back before escaping from the rather embarrassing scene. "Jeeze." 'Good thing Ino wasn't here to hear that or she might have beaten him to within an inch of his life.' He chuckled at the thought as he walked up to the Hyuga heiress, giving off a little wave. "Hey Hina-Ooof." Before he even knew what was going on he was wrapped in a bear trap of a hug, it might be her last so might as well enjoy it, ensnaring one of his arms and cutting off his air supply. "Yeah…I'll miss you too." He squeaked in an air deprived voice.

She released him and he took in a huge breath. Her face turned a bright orange hue as she watched him breath in and out; the scene was all too cute in her opinion. Even if he wouldn't be around, he would still be an inspiration to her resolution, she would work harder to complete her own goals now that he wasn't around to cheer her on and when she sees him again…she'll happily kick his ass to show him how much she has grown thanks to his encouragement. But for now…she would run away before he regains his breath to say anything to her.

"Well…that was better than the scene with Choji." 'Although he didn't try to kill me with affection.' Whatever, looks like the lazy ass finally woke up.

"…" 'Troublsome.'

"…" 'I'm not that annoying.'

"…" 'Ypu're just a tag along.'

"…" 'I'm just a tag along?'

"…" 'Why does Choji like him so much?'

"…" 'Why does Choji like him so much?'

"…" 'He's my best friend."

"…" 'He's my eating partner."

"…" 'Whatever.'

"…" 'Whatever.'

"…" 'I still hate you.'

"…" 'He doesn't like me.'

"Annoyance." 'Till next time.'

"Ass." 'Till next time.'

The two walked in opposite directions, completely unaware of the conversation they just help in secret. A hand was place on his shoulders, just like his day dream, but unlike his day dream she wouldn't let him embrace her and this time…it would continue past the sun set.

"Naruto-kun." He noted her voice sounded small and frail, completely opposite from her usually strong proud demeanor. She placed a hand to his shoulder to halt his advances.

"Shizune-san." She winced at the added suffix; she wasn't use to being addressed so formally and even less likely by him. If he was actually using respect when he didn't have to then she really must have hurt him.

"I just wanted to say…" His eyebrow rose, she stopped mid sentence. She wanted to ask him to stay, no, she wanted to demand for him to stay, asking left to much probability.

"Good luck…right?" He finished for her, although he was sure that's not what she wanted to say.

"Yeah….I'm sorry." She moved to face him. Her eyes spoke serenity as her voice portrayed hurt.

"No…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have ask for more." He apologized; he actually apologized for something out of his control. Why does he have to be so dense as to not know that this isn't his fault? It only added to the reasons why she liked him.

"No…it was only right that you want more."

He snorted, crossing his arms. 'Why does she do this to me, sending mixed signals? What does she want? I don't understand why.'

"But it wouldn't have worked out." She looked nervous, the way she kept looking around, trying not to focus on the person standing before her.

"You keep saying that but you still haven't given me a valid reason." He took a step away from her, letting her arm fall freely, almost as if it that single act stole all is hope for living. 'There have been greater age gaps.'

"You're too young to know what true love is." 'You'll have a chance to find the right person for you.'

"I just want you to be…"

"Happy, I know." Doesn't everyone? Typical. "Look Shizune, I understand," Somewhat. "so if you don't mind, I have some people waiting for me." He smirked, payback was never really his thing but he's done a lot of things today that he normally wouldn't have done. "I'll let you handle Obaa-san." He began to walk away, eager to start anew on his fresh life.

"Naruto…wait!"

He jumped into the trees, jumping from branch to branch in search of his new companions; he didn't need to be continually reminded of what he was leaving behind. It wasn't that he thought he could escape her, because if she wanted she could catch him in an instance, she was a Jounin after all, but he knew that she wouldn't follow. This was his selfish decision and he didn't need any should of, could of, would of's influencing his decisions.

"Come on!" He shouted with mock happiness to the patient royal and he trusty guard. "We're wasting daylight!"

The two watched as he speed through the trees, not even bothering to look back to check if they were following. "Come Haruna-sama," Yurinojou grabbed the princess's hand to pull her along. "we better catch him before he completely leaves us behind."


	2. Castle Invitation

Castle Invitation

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any similarities to any other media piece.

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**Forest: Sunset**

* * *

"_This is Storm Sorter. __Storm Sorter__ in position._" He spoke into his com link. He and his team had just spent the last hour moving through the forest in search of some mob bosses hide away. He hid behind a tree, out of sight from any sentry post as he awaited for the rest of his team to get in position. He looked from his position at his target, a huge mansion, although it looked more like a military compound. 30 feet high steel gates, probably electrified. 'Amateurs.' Many poorly hidden traps littered the out grounds, mines, bear traps and cages, maybe they would do a fair job in keeping out the riffraff and local bandits but to an experienced ninja they were nothing. 'Pathetic, there doesn't seem to be any ninja among the group' Guard dogs passing by every few minutes, tasting the air for any and all foreign odors. 'Primitive…but affective, guess they're not total idjits.' Guards walking around with katanas, daggers, axes and an assortment of fun things. 'Looks like fun, the big guns should be inside.'

"_This is Red Horn_" The rough voice came over the Link. "_R__ed __H__orn__, in position._"

"_This is __Black__ Horn Beta. __Black Horn__, in position._" This voice was much softer then the last.

Just his luck, one of the first big missions he was allowed to go on and he was teamed with two muscle bound idiots known as Rhino's. Greenery Country didn't have a big demand for ninja, it just wasn't a big name country in the sense of wealth of power; but that didn't mean they were going to leave themselves open for any no-name group to come and start harking out demands; not like Greenery Country gets many missions. There were roughly around 70 ninja in Greenery Country, give or take, and they all run in cells; no more than seven to a cell. My cell, Falcon, is one of the most hated simple because we get our orders directly from the Feudal Lord. Stupid reason if you ask me. 'Doesn't everyone get the talk with the Feudal Lord on a daily basis?'

"_Storm Sorter__, where is __Raynos_" Red Horn appears right behind me, I really don't like him. He's a big man, roughly some ways over six feet. Long amber hair, other than that I know nothing about him. He wears what all other cells wear, traditional shinobi pants and other wear matching their cells colors, yada yada, basically a generic ANBU wonna be behind a Rhino mask. Rhinos focus on power over strategy and wear black and white, so cliché.

Falcons are a little more down to earth, if you can picture that. We focus on speed, stealth and the quick kill…true ninja. Dark jeans, better protection from minor cuts and bruises even if a little heavier, a silver open vest over a black shirt all behind a Falcon mask, basically we look like street urchins with mask. Falcons are Black and Silver.

if I killed him right now I would be perfectly within my reasons, but the paper work I'd have to fill for reporting how and why I killed him isn't even worth the trouble.

"_Storm Sorter_"

"I heard you." This guy really has no patience. "I don't know where Raynos is, ok."

"No, it isn't…she is you charge. Can't you keep her in line?"

"No," He watched the man's anger rise from over his shoulder; it was so easy to push the man's buttons. "can you?"

"_This is D__ Bison._" The commander stern voice sounded over the link; D. Bison is running this mission and he commands respect from all his charges, to bad none of us report to him so he'll get next to none on this mission. "_Red Horn, back to your post._" Here it comes. "_Brat, find the girl._" Always the lackey work. I'll be glad when this is over, then I can go back to taking orders from Haru-hime, I can't stand people hurtling orders at my face every five minutes.

"_Raynos__, get your ass in position before you get me in trouble._" He whispered over the link.

It was sometime before he received any answer. "_This is __Raynos__Raynos__, in position._"

"_Daydreaming again __Raynos_" A nervous giggle was his only response. "_Whatever, tell me when to go._"

"_Remember Falcon team, we can only back you up once you clear the facility. As long as you're in there you're on your own._"

"_Yeah yeah, we know the deal._" The two Falcons answered.

"_Then __g__o!_"

The two members of the falcon cell rushed from the coverage of the forest, not wanting to be caught by one of the sentry post. They stopped just outside the fence, close enough to avoid the sentry but far enough as to not touch the extremely dangerous electric fence. Raynos crouched down, going through a set of hand seals before melding into the ground.

'_Kyo's__ in, no I just have to wait for the-_'

"ZAAAAAPPP!!" all guards in the vicinity rushed over to the disturbed area, looking for any signs of intrusion. Many confused yells were heard as the found everything to be intact and undisturbed.

'_Here we go._'

The fence rung once more with the sound of electricity. Either someone was messing with them or the animals were getting lucky to get past the traps. With all eyes focused on the fence no one ever witnessed the human shaped figure rocket high into the sky and land on the building which they were to guard.

'Too easy.' The little mice scurried below him in an attempt to dislodge the animals from the fence without getting shocked themselves. If any of them had any brains they would have turned off the fence before trying to remove to carcass.

"ZAAAAPPPPPP!!"

His right eye began to twitch. 'Just how stupid are these guys?' he easily unlocked the latch on a nearby window and stepped inside the dark room with little to no noise, all the while glad the mice's outside weren't in charge of his safety. 'I'd probably be dead by now.' He moved over to the door, expanding his senses, looking for any hidden signs of life outside the room before he exits.

The halls are damp and reek of a foreign substance. His mask has a breather installed so poison shouldn't be much of a problem, but when most of the air atmosphere is filled with the toxin, there isn't much a filter can do. He held his hand under his mask to cover his mouth, 'I gotta get outta here.' He rushed down the hall as fast as he could without creating too much disturbance. 'Getting dizzy.' He increased his speed, trying to find a way out of the clouds that only seem to be getting thicker. 'A door!' he rushed for the door, quickly exiting and slamming the door shut without regard for the covert mission he had kept until now.

'Damn, what was that? No wonder no one was on that floor, it like a death trap.' He stood and crossed the room. Above him a sky light, to the right, an indoor pool and to his left, various pieces of art. Everything was starting to get dizzy again, the room began to spin, vision became blurry and he began to lose balance.

"_Storm Sorter!__ Storm Sorter! __You there?!_" Raynos's voice broke him out of his dizzy spell from over the com link.

"_What?_" He rubbed his eye, trying to bring some clarity to the room. "_Yeah,_" his voice was tired and weak. "_What is it __Raynos_"

"_I've been calling you for __over a__ minute, what have you been doing?_"

"_Nothing, forget about it. Where are you?_" He moved along the wall, trying to regain his balance.

"_I'm in the living room. But there are multiple people here and I can't leave._"

"_I'll be there._" He focused, moving the toxins through his body the best he could on his limited knowledge of medical apparatus, he succeeded in moving the toxins somewhere, he didn't know where, but anywhere was better that his lungs when you were heart deep in enemy territory.

"Better do this quick; I don't know how long this quick fix will last." He kicked off the ground with amazing speed, rushing through hallways faster than most could see. He passed many guards, noticing a few sporting ninja head bands, he finally arrived at the living commons only to see at least twenty people, all wearing nice suits and shades. The most noticeable thing was the numerous blocks littering the tables circling the inner circle of couches which circled a table coated with a white powder. 'Drug dealers, mob bosses, whatever.'

"_Raynos__, get ready to move._"

"_Wait…what are you going to do?_"

One simple motion to drop a kunai into the circle of drug dealers. The lot looked on in annoyance and confusion at the meaningless object that interrupts their meeting, said item began to sizzle in, causing the mass to scramble to anywhere and nowhere to escape from the oncoming blast.

"_Storm Sorter, what's that sound? Sounds like a…_"

"BOOOOM!!" the room was littered with a cloud of white powder.

* * *

**With Team Rhino**

* * *

"_Was that the signal?_" The com link rang.

"_It's too early…either way__, Rhino team, __get__ in position __and wait for them to come out._"

* * *

**Inside Mansion: Hallway**

* * *

Raynos was breathing hard, hands on knees and head between her legs. Her mask was off showing off her stark white hair that fell down to her shoulders and caramel eyes. Standing at just four feet tall, she was taller standing upright; and a figure of an ice skater she wasn't really what one would call a sight to fear.

"Anytime you ready." Storm Sorter drooled cockily.

"Shut the hell up!" she countered slowly, anger coating every word. "Not all of us are stamina hyped freaks like you." He just chuckled, giving her a hard slap to the back. "Bastard."

* * *

**Inside Mansion: Unknown Location**

* * *

"What do I pay you for?" one of the many mob bosses yelled to his many guards, swinging a cane around.

"How could you let two little brats break in and embarrass me…me…" He pointed to himself. "the person who makes sure you don't ever have to go back to you little jobs and meager living." His suit was charred and his sunglasses were hanging by an ear.

"Useless…all of…" his shades broke in half.

"The hell are you still doing here! Find them!!" all the guards rushed out in different direction to search the mansion from tower tip to basement floor.

"And you…" he turned to the only guard who hadn't moved through his entire monologue. A goliath of a man. Tall and built, shoulder length umber hair with a inhumanly large twin ax that reached a foot over his head strapped to his bare back.

"The supposed big bad missing nin from stone." The giant barely batted an eye as the man poked him in his bare ribs cage with his cane, which he had was barely able to reach without jumping.

"You let…" Having enough of the small mans redundant speeches; the giant grabbed the man by his tiny neck and held him over twice his normal height. Seeing the man's air deprived face turn a nice shade of purple, he dropped him, a devious smirk covering his rugged face. He walked away in search of the people who were causing trouble for his temporary meal ticket; not like he would work for the man forever, just until he made enough that he could kill him off and live quietly somewhere where he wouldn't have to worry about being hunted down in his sleep.

* * *

**Inside Mansion: Treasure Room**

* * *

"So, what is it?" Raynos asked for the nth time in the last two minutes. Storm Sorter was currently trying to figure out a way to remove the object they were here for without sounding the alarms. It was a silver staff with many jewels scattered all over the staff, which was topped off with a clear orb of some kind. It didn't look all that important and it couldn't cost much, compared to what the country made, so why were they spending all this effort trying to retrieve it.

"…" 'The informant said these goons weren't real technical, if I knew these guys would be using such advance tech I would have brought better tools.'

"Is it special?" She crossed her arms, giving off a small pout; too bad the mask covering her face completely blocked any effect it might have had. "Does it do anything?"

"…" 'If I touch the beam the alarm will sound…'

"Geeerr." She growled.

"…" 'Then everyone will know where we are…then we're screwed…'

"NA…" The sound of the alarm blared. "What happened?!" she asked franticly, looking for the source of the sound.

* * *

**Inside Mansion: Treasure Room**

* * *

"Well, I get to have fun after all." The two Falcons set sights on the new comer, a large man holding an ax, which was currently stuck in the side of the wall, cutting cleanly through one of the alarm beams.

"Raynos, get out of here," The staff was shoved into her hand, giving no room for protest. "I'll handle the rest."

"Oh, handle me will ya." The man clutched onto his stomach, trying to hold in his irrepressible snickering at the statement. "That's a laugh." He easily removed his ax with one simple motion, swinging it over his shoulders, a feat that would send most men twice the kid's size running for their lives; but he stood tall, ready to face down the behemoth three times his size. "Much more fun if I don't have to chase you down one at a time; but, do as you please."

"This'll be easy…get going." The other Falcon said confidently, waving off any worry Raynos might have had.

She exited the room via homemade skylight, jumping straight up with regards for safety. "Don't die," She yelling over her shoulder. "You still owe me money!"

"Think you're gonna take me down do ya… in your condition?"

"My condition?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "just me talking too much." The man rushed forward, swinging his ax with expert speed and precision, creating a wide impact, enough to break through the floor boards and kick up plenty of dust to obscure his vision.

"Too slow." Came from his right, he immediately twisted his ax sideways, taking another swing where he thought the voice came from. "Missed again." He turned, swing in a full circle a few times before coming to a somewhat dizzy stop, swinging his ax to rest on his shoulders. "Are all stone-nin this slow."

"Cocky little bastard." He mumbled under his breath, looking around the room, the last attack clearing the dust and debris from obscuring his vision. "Where?" There weren't many places to hide in the room, but for a ninja practically anything could be used.

"Up here!" his head shot back, searching the ceiling, only to receive a knee to the face, causing him to stumble backwards off balance, "Over here." A kick to the back sent him sky born, dropping his ax on the way up, head first into the ceiling, his head taking the full impact and continuing through.

"Gah." Pushing at the ceiling, he was able to eject himself from his make shift head brace, both feet landing on the floor with twin heavy thud, cracking a few floor boards.

"Pathetic." He turned to his right just in time to see a boot connect with his face, launching him through a few walls before he landed outside, skidding to a halt on the rough uneven ground, his back and side stinging from the skin that was removed from his uncontrolled stop.

'Speedy little brat,' he took a few breathes, trying to calm his nerves. 'too fast.' There was no way he would be able to keep up with the kid; he couldn't even see his movements. He rose to his feet, watching as the small man, compared to him, confidently walked out of door he had just made using his body, hands in his pockets as if he was taking on some little inexperienced brat.

"Ready for round two?" Falcon boy was getting too confident, he was sure that he was smirking under that mask. His eye focused on his opponents form, hoping to catch whatever was making the kid move so fast. He watched with unblinking eyes, quick as lightning a knee was planted in his gut, causing him to double over and drop to his knees. He received a series of punches to the same area before catching a hard kick to the side of the face, sending him on a second sliding trip across the ground.

"Dammit!!" He yelled, slamming a fist into the ground, causing a sizeable creator where his fist impacted. He jumped to his feet, eyes wide and teeth grinding, just in time to see the kid drop to his knees than fall face first in the dirt. "What the…"

He walked over to inspect the body, he moved slowly then remembered the kid wouldn't need to surprise him; the kid was already dozens of times faster than him, so he moved closer without any hesitation.

He was holding his chest when he was turned over, a few coughs told the man that he was still alive. One hard punch sent the kid into the world of la la land, ending the little one sided struggle.

He readjusted his jaw, trying to place it back in the right place after that last attack, 'No upper body strength but his kicks felt like getting slammed into a brick wall at 40 mile per hour.' Picking up the kid, he went to retrieve his ax, trying to think up a way he could swing the story of him capturing the kid in his favor, excluding the parts about him being kicked around for the last five minutes. 'I should kill you but I'll have a little more fun with you before I kill you.


	3. Memoir: Unfinished

Memoirs

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any similarities to any other media piece.

_I am_: writing/flashback/emphasis

an: story/explanation/description

"Unstoppable": Talking

'Death Machine': Thoughts

* * *

The Day Before

* * *

_Memoir_

_By Uzumaki Naruto_

_Even I can admit when I do something stupid__, my life is filled with stupid decisions that end up backfiring_

_Inviting myself periodically into the __girl's__ bathroom at the age of 12; __senseless__ They hit hard__, and like an elephant, they never forget_

_Eating ramen, which is still one of my favorite food even today although I don't eat it as much, every day till I was eleven; moronic. Even if I didn't have __people, save Kakashi occasionally after becoming apart of his squad, __to tell me what I should and shouldn't eat, I still had enough sense to tell me I shouldn't eat the same thing over and over again; but it was just so __damn__ good._

_Trying to become friends with the last Uchiha heir; well, you know how that ended.__Fuck__er_

_Trying to alter time and space and bring a mystical creature into our world at the age of nine; don't worry, I don't have some super powered creature just waiting to be called on at my will, old man Hokage stopped my before I could draw the final seal. You borrow one scroll and automatically the ban you from ever entering into the Hokage's private chambers again. Not like they were using the scroll, every time I sa__w__ it__, it__ was just __sitting __atop some pedestal, protected by some laser system and trip wires; __child's__ play for a master of disaster such as myself; with my years of knowledge of all things prank material, I was easily able to get past the abysmal security system and take the scroll. Being shorter __than any of__ the security laser__s__ helped a bit too. _

_Even __now, I find myself in one of the stupidest decisions I ever made, choosing to leave Konoha, __my home, my prison, my life, my death; __though __maybe __not permanently, it could lead to a permanent change in residence. _

_It's __n__ot that I hate Konoha, though I do sometimes hate my home, that's not why I left. It's still my home, and if need be I would die to protect it, but it doesn't need me. Konoha is one of the biggest ninja villages in existence, at least of the known ninja villages, a few ninja leaving __isn't__ going to put a dent in its defenses.__ A few weeks after the Sand-Sound attack, most places had reopened for business. Two months __after people couldn't wait till the next Chunin exam. The people of Konoha feel so protected inside their great barrier that the only time they feel fear is when it stares them directly in the eyes. _

_Greenery Country sounded like the perfect place to restart me quest to fame. A place where the people really needed help, and in a bad way. I could be that person who helps drag Greenery Country back to its former glory; my history is remedial so I have no clue what its former glory was but I'll just help it along as much as I can. Of __course,__ not all my reasons were so selfless. _

_I want to be famous, __not for what I hold but __for__ all I have__; I want it more than anything, I'__ll do anything to get it__. My strength, my speed, my skill, my __aspiration__s. __I want the world to know my name; like __Jiraiya__, everywhere he goes, people know him, and respect him, for all his accomplishments. _Unfortunately, he uses his good name and title to misdeed.

_Konoha and Greenery Country aren't really great friends, it all sense of the word__, I don't think I can really bring Greenery Country up to the friend standards of Konoha__. Konoha doesn't make friends with countries that won't benefit them, and Greenery Country, a country without a major ninja village, has no way of proving useful enough to Konoha to become an __"__official__"__ friend. _

_Basically, the only reason Greenery Country has any type of relationship with Konoha, other __than__ the usual client, service provider__ is because of one person, me._

_Yeah I chose to go to Greenery Country out of my own free will, but it wasn't exactly my decision to make; damn bias council controls everything__M__akes me wonder why we even have a Hokage other than for moral support, someone for the people to look up to and believe in. don't get me wrong, the Hokage does do important work, such as __signing__ documents to approve or veto a bill or potential client. If the Hokage approves…well, it's all rather trivial knowledge that one should know, but will possible never use less they work for the highest branches of the government. _

_After a week in Greenery Country, I was placed in a cell__ a group of __ninja in training__, which__ will take over when another group of ninja die or fail to complete their job__. Haruna worked fast recruiting any and all former ninja living in Greenery Country to train__ a younger generation of ninja. Any and all people with any ninja training were to report to the palace immediately, I would say around 60 or 70 people showed up. _

_Guess all the crap this country went through just because they didn't have sufficient defense enough to handle a couple of renegade nins convinced her to build up the __countries__ defenses__. It pains me to say this, especially since my team had such a hard time defeating them, but if you country __can't__ even take out a few middle class nins it deserves to be taken over, especially when your country can afford to build a sufficient defense. _

_The princess seemed to take to leadership quickly. Reorganizing finances, exports, imports, and going over every law Greenery Country enforced, twice. Going through all the public departments such as government, local police, __and other public emergencies agencies. A rather long and tiring process, but she was determined to make her land a proverbial utopia for her loyal subjects. __She __works__ herself __senseless, sometime not getting sleep for days; meeting with former friends, big time traders, trying to bring more business to Greenery Country, trying to keep all the people happy. It runs her ragged. _

_I never thought being a leader was so hard. Every time I saw the Hokage he was usually smiling and so enjoying life, i wonder if he was just as tired as she is at times. The only difference between the two is that I've seen Haruna at her best and at her worst; the side of her she doesn't want people to see__, the side of her without makeup or sleep__. I try to __help;__ I tell her that her country won't fall if she's not on call 24-7, but she's stubborn. More than once did I have to cast a few spells on the unaware princess to get her to go to sleep or even to just relax. _

_Out of the 60 or so, __only__around 20 __were actually decent ninja, most maybe around my old teacher Iruka's level. We were even lucky to have a few high level __wandering nins __living a peaceful life in Greenery Country, a few may have even been around the level of that closet perv Ebisu's level. __One o__r__ two even close to Kakashi…well, maybe not Kakashi but the old man's son at least, or that other Jonin who headed dog boy's team. _

_Anyway, I was place with the other __4__0 or so, the ones with __either limited __real ninja training __or __little real experience__; som__e,__ had __merely learned how to mold charka__ but never went much further__because or various reasons from needing to work to take care of family to teacher being sent on missions with no replacements, __such as my teammate and somewhat of a __best__ friend __of sorts __Kyo. _

_She was one of the first people to actually talk to me, and boy could she ever talk; I saying to the point where you would think she was eight__y__ years old and had nothing better to do then tell young people of their journeys in life. There was nothing wrong with that, I enjoyed the good story of two; but after the __first __seven,__ I was reaching for my most trusted kunai, ready to slit the young __girl's__ throat just to shut her up. _

_W__e were two out of seve__n__ to be places on a sleeper cell, "Falcon" we were named. A group of people with low charka who could hide easily__ specialized in stealth kills and such, strictly covert operations. __We were to be trained by a Kurtis Jigmar, some former mist nin, in the ways of the stealth kill; that went well for all of ten minutes, once __he__ found out that almost no one save for me had close to near to enough charka control to perform water jutsu quick enough to be useful. So he just focused on teaching the basics, to build their control while I watched, basically. I could do the stuff he had them doing in my sleep; tree climbing, water walking, long-distance endurance running, just __god-awful__ boring stuff. _

_Few w__eek__s__ later, many hadn't approved much, but I got a very interesting surprise; a visit from __some old friends, when I say old I don't mean I knew them long, just that they were __o__lder; in age not looks. That's right, the elderly, not couple, couple; Jiraiya and Tsunade. __Remember that whole part about the council running everything, well I wasn't just complaining about them; turns out that what I did was actually a declaration of war or __some__crap__ something__ like__ that, either way I would __have __be__en__ labeled a missing nin if not for Shizune saying she gave me permission to escort Princess Haruna. Something about a__n__ emergency change of mission request of something, again, trivial knowledge that I should know but will probably never use. _

_Shizune, __there__ was once a time when I thought I was in love with her; I don't know, maybe I __did __maybe I __didn't__. I__ was __only 14, many would say what __didn't __know __anything __about love, but I could know much, they don't know. Maybe it was too early still, it was just one night we spent together, nothing too out there and nothing too explicit, nothing I wouldn't do with __Kyo, but maybe that's not saying much. It's just that she is so…was, so __easy to talk too, and understands me without judgment, I hate judgment. So many judge me before they even know what I'm capable of, even the ones who know me best, but never her. Still, I think I was falling for her and maybe she was falling too; still, the age difference was too great; __she was old enough to be my mom, __even I knew that. Maybe if I was older, like I am now__, maybe…__maybe I'll visit everyone the next time I travel to Konoha. _

_So the old couple come to tell me that if I'm going to stay, I have to be a moderator for Konoha and Greenery Country; going back and forth, delivering messages, __negotiating__ deals__doing missions for both parties__, accompanying Haruna back in forth between the two as needed, throwing dinner parties, hosting events, __sarcasm, __basically, the council said if I wasn't going to be under their watch 24 seven, my life would be hell. __Hell for the average fourteen year old at least. __And it was, till I__ accepted it. _

_Tsunade doesn't like that I accepted my fate so easily, Jiraiya, well…he went off to find some good __material so I have no idea if he even knows or cares; really hard to tell if he's just acting like he doesn't care of if he really doesn't but I don't assume the latter. __l. It __won't__ be easy, technically, I would be a special Jonin for too villages. Reporting to two leaders won't be easy but ya know, I see it as a challenge. __And besides, I'm Jonin, at 14, how many could say that. Besides __Kakashi,__I__ didn't know any__, never paid much attention during history or current events__; and if __I__ didn't know them they didn't really mater, until __I__ m__e__et them. _

_Speaking of Tsunade, turns out she actually hasn't run Konoha into the ground like I thought she would. The village is still standing and not on fire. People living happily and not rioting. Work being done and Hokage not sleeping. Medics being trained, new hospital opened__ and ninja not __dying__. Good job if I say so. That's only a few of the things she's done. __Other than her Hokage duties, her life is as dull as a bowl of cereal, not Trix, or Cheerios. You would think a gambling addict would know how to have a good time__ I don't care how drunk you get, losing all you money in a __game series __of __Dai Hin Min is not my idea of fun; neither is caring __my passed out leader back to her hotel room, if only the people of Konoha knew how their Hokage really was_

_Once I accepted the fact that my life would be controlled by others, whether I like it or not I actually found life to be enjoyable. I partied, drank, dated, __and watched__ the latest movies…the usual teenager stuff. That got boring real fast; the life of a ninja is exciting enough, I don't need to live my life through other people. So back to training it was. _

_Me and Kyo spent a lot of time together over the course of our training, mostly due to the fact that__…ha, I've been mentioning Kyo a lot but I'll bet you don't know who she is. _

_She has bleak white __hair;__ I neither know nor care if it's __natural.__Brown__ eyes, a somewhat attractive face but her hair is usually covering the entire right side of her face. She needs a haircut, having it short would__ keep it out of her eyes but it's her choice. I would just order her to cut it, then she would have to, but __until it proves to be a problem, I'll let it slide. Her body is quite petit, but it isn't quite ninja protocol either. At least she's not starving __herself like some of the other girls in this country__. Her personality, one of her best qualities; she has a very adventurous personality, loves meeting people and making friends, being the center of attention, and best of all, she knows if she doesn't shut up__I'll hit her__, or push her out of a window, whichever is __convenient__. I think she's 21 or something, I know she's older than me, but I forget by how much. _

_As__ I was saying__, Kyo was placed with me, mostly because nobody else wanted her. Didn't want to deal with her condition, something evolving a smaller than average charka supply; sense she hadn't practiced __Ninjutsu__ as much as I did when I was still in the __academy__, her charka supply never really built, so we had to do a lot of backtracking on her training. __It's average now, but nowhere near what it could have been, maybe I shouldn't make fun of her as much, she does have an excuse for not being able to hold her pace with "stamina freaks", as she named it, like me. _

_I hate the Rhino cell__I__ really, really__ hate them__; it really has no __relevance with__what I'm writing but I felt I should add it. _

_I haven't seen much of anybody from my old life…__save __the dirty pair, __Ebisu and Kakashi on one of their yearly visits to "check up on an old student", come to think of it, their yearly visit is coming up__ Things are very different in Greenery Country__a__ lot better than I ever had it in Konoha. N__ot that I like to brag__ but__I've become something of a celebrity around Greenery Country. Everyone know__s__m__e__ but this time__ in a good way. They all look at me with admiration and respect, something I rarely received so forgive me if I bask a little or take a sweet treat of two when the __local bakers__ offer them. __B__esides__, it's rude to turn down a gift. _

_Sakura, it's been almost two years since I seen her last. She came with the dirty pair a few times; at least she stopped attacking me. __A__t first, she was mad, saying something about leaving her to do all the work in retrieving Sasuke, but after her third visit here, she had completely forgot about going after him, well, not completely. I think that was our first real conversation that didn't lead to me taking some kind of punishment. She became the old bat's apprentice, learning medical skills; just what the world needs, more __Tsunade spawns running around. _

_I think I matured over the __years,__ in height sure but not so much in width__"Tall, svelte, no known__muscle mass, like a little pansy." Kyo's words, not mine. __When I was little, my main focus was being stronger than my opponents or out powering/out lasting them with my huge charka reserve. My skill weren't much but I could count on my stamina and will power. __Now, as my body grew, my strength diminished. I'm not even sure I'm half as strong as I was five years ago, at least in upper body strength. But I've gotten much faster, I'm sure I'm the fastest person in Greenery Country and even Kakashi-sensei couldn't keep up with me during a little spar. Although he still won in the end, I still gave him a hell of a beating before he cast some genjutsu on me, knocking me out. __Then again, __never was that good a countering genjutsu. _

_I know I haven't seen my friends, well…I guess I can call them friends; we weren't really that close save the people in my __Genin__ squad but I at least sensed we were something more than mere acquaintances. I __know a few things such as Shino being the first __and only person __to achieve Jonin out of __our little group__the rest a Chunin I guess, I'm not sure. A__lso, I couldn't believe it but…one of us is actually married__. Never in my wildest dreams, which could get a little wild in my younger years_

* * *

"Naruto!! What cha doing?" 

"Damn." Naruto dropped his pen, already regretting choosing such an obvious place as his office to try to relax and sketch his memoir. He turned, noticing the presence of his friend Kyo. She hovered over his right shoulder, left arm supporting her weight on his right shoulder while her right moved the parchment he was writing into a better reading position. "What do you want Kyo?"

She picked the top page, quickly scanning it over. Her eyebrow rose in confusion as she held out the page to him. "This your bio or something?"

He took the page, shuffling it back into the pile briefly. "Don't you have someone else to be bothering…" he brought out the last page, the one he had just finished writing on. "I'm busy."

"What's wrong?" she asked, moving over to sit on his desk. It really bothered her that he always kept what bothered him bottled in. "You only get defensive when you got something important on your mind."

He looked to his left, crossing his arms and staring out of his window. From his office on the fourth floor of the Feudal Lords mansion, he could see the entire layout of the land; from the market district that started just outside the castle walls to the housing district the spawned around the castle, enclosing the market district. "Just remembering."

She waited for him to continue, crossing and uncrossing her legs in a childish manor.

"Lately, I've thought nothing save for the future. What will happen and how will I change, but I haven't thought about how I got to where I am today In a long time. I thought I might forget about what has happened to me as I gain new memories, happier memories. This…" he held up the parchment he'd worked on for the better half of the day. "was supposed to help me remember what got me to where I am, it was supposed to go further…but now..."

She giggled, snatching the last page from his hands. "aw, Taichou is getting homesick."

"Yeah, right," he rose from his seat, taking the page back. "What are you doing here anyway?" he shuffled them into a neat pile. "You know you're not supposed to be here."

"What, I can't visit my _best_ friend?"

His eye widened. "I didn't write that!"

"Come on," she placed a hand over her heart. "I _love_ that you consider me your _best_ friend."

"It was a mistake!"

"Can't admit to a relationship, jeez," she sighed. "you can be such a child sometimes."

He grinded his teeth, irate at not crossing out his _mistakes_ better. "Get out."

"Anyway," she countered, waving off his order while completely changing the subject. "Are you going to finish." She gestured towards the pages neatly piled on his desk. "I'll read them."

"Eh, thinking about the past is dragging my mood down." He held out his hand over the pages, placing his open palm on them before they burst into flames. "No one will ever read them; it was written sloppily and had many spelling errors, grammar…_profanity_, etc."

"Oh well." she sighed, taking a small interest in the burning flames atop his desk, captivated by the dancing flames but soon remembered why she was there. "Well, I know what'll cheer you up…we have a mission!" she yelled, jumping to her feet as she held out a scroll. "We leave in twenty minutes, I'll be waiting outside."

He took the scroll before she jumped out his open window. He scanned over the scroll, seeing it was still sealed peaked his interest. Greenery Country didn't get so many missions as to need to organize them in scrolls, they were all usually word of mouth, they were never really that important. Ninja were in Greenery Country to defend it, to defend their king…queen, not to be sent out on anything someone else either couldn't or didn't want to do themselves. He took a closer look, reading what was written on the seal of the scroll. "From The Desk of The Kazekage" He smirked.

"Yes, my stupid decision. Best pay off an attention seeker could ask for."

"So," Kyo's head popped up through the window. "who's this Shizune person?"

Naruto only rolled his eye before slamming the window shut. The shocked look on Kyo's face and the resulting loud crash moments later were bliss to his ears as he plopped into his chair, propped his legs on his desk and open the scroll he was holding.

* * *


	4. Fear of Earth

Fear of Earth

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any similarities to any other media piece.

_Master_: writing/flashback/emphasis/Jutsus

Where'd: story/explanation/description

"You": Talking

'Go': Thoughts

* * *

As reading over my own work is sometimes difficult as I read what is suposed to be there, not always what it actually there, I woukd like to inlist the help of anyone who would like to beta this peice. If interested, just email me.

* * *

**Outside Mansion: Someway from the Mansion **

* * *

"Dammit Kankuro, gimme back my fan!" A tall blond woman wearing a light brown tunic and miniskirt yelled, chasing a slightly shorter man who appeared to be wearing a cat suit of sorts. They had been running round for the past ten minutes, the girl trying to catch up to the slightly faster Kankuro after he had _borrowed_ her fan.

"Tell me where you hid Karasu Temari!" None of the other Jonin there even lifted a finger to stop them; it didn't even seem as though any of them even registered the two were currently fighting.

It was like custom for them. Before they would start any mission, Temari would steal one of Kankuro tools, making adjusting one of his many prized puppets rather difficult. To retaliate, Kankuro would steal Temari's hair bands, why she didn't just wear her hair down nobody knew or would dare to ask. Things would continue in small increments of childish behavior like taking a shoe or throwing things at each other until they brought out the big guns; which is how we come to a situation where Kankuro is rapidly blasting Temari with relative small gust of wind, not enough to blow her away but enough to halt her advances.

"I didn't take you stupid toys!" she yelled over the wind, leaning forward, taking slow agonizing step after step, trying to get closer to the Kugutsuuser. She almost felt sympathy for her opponents, fighting a wind user was hard. She couldn't even get close to him and any projectile would be sent right back at her; maybe it wasn't such a good idea to teach him to use her fan, although he was nowhere near her level he could hold his own against someone who didn't know how to fight a fan user.

"Stupid toys huh?" He suddenly stopped his windy barrage, causing Temari to face plant, pausing to point and laugh; he turned and ran through the trees.

"Dam him!" her head shot up from the tree branches and dirt, searching for the reason for her light red glow. Catching sight of the black suit he always wore, she gave chase, yelling a string of expletives.

When she finally caught up to him, he was perched on a cliff, looking over the side. He turned to follow her as she scaled the small mount, jumping from rock to rock.

"Alright…hand over the fan and I'll let you _walk_ away from here." Putting emphasis on the walk, she held out her hand.

"Doesn't look like you have any trading collateral," he looked her over, not finding what he was looking for. "Guess I don't need this then." He held the fan over other side of the cliff, which she already knew was a very long way down.

"You wouldn't." she threatening, moving closer.

"Tsk, tsk," he shook his head. "I thought you would know me by now." He dropped it.

She screamed, grabbing her head in horror. She rushed to the edge, hoping to catch her most prized possession before it fell to far, merely to watch as it feel out of her sight. Laughter at her side reminded her that she still had an annoyance to beat; she shot up, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off the ground, showing off her impressive strength. "Go get it!!" she spoke slowly and darkly. Kankuro would swear later her eyes turned red for a moment.

He wouldn't be threatened. "Go get it yourself." He said smugly. It was a half a day trip down the cliff and back up; last time he threw her fan off, that's how long it took for her to climb down and back up. Going around would take days and the cliff was to jagged to run straight down or up.

She yelled in anger, blasting huge amounts of charka in all directions. "I said," She turned, "go," took him over her shoulder, "get it!!" and threw him directly down the cliff. It only took her half a moment to realize what she had just done in her moment of anger. "Ah oh." He brothers always said he anger problem would get someone kill, she just never thought it would be one of them.

Her senses immediately kick in to the presence behind her, she spun, kunai already in hand and wishing she had her fan, she launched the projectile at the culprit, only to have it snatched from the air. The culprit spun the kunai around by their base, moving over to her position. Shorter than Kankuro, red hair, long brown trench coat, and the Kanji for death tattooed above his left eye.

"Gaara."

He hadn't even looked at her so she knew she was in trouble. He raised his left hand, seemingly trying to pull something up. A few moments later, a platform of sand rose, carrying a annoyed looking Kankuro and her fan. Coming from the left, two puppets recognized as Karasu and Kuroariwere brought in by a second platform; they were all dumped unceremoniously in a heap on the ground. The two gathered their appropriate belongings then stood at attention, waiting for their sure punishment.

"The operation starts in a few minutes," he gave them a piercing stare. "try not to kill each other till it's over."

He turned and walked away, that's all they received for almost ruining another mission, if it wasn't for their sense of pride they would have done a little jig right there.

"Wow," Kankuro waved an imaginary bead of sweat from his brow. "That was nearly as bad as the time I locked you in Kuroari." She froze. "Ouch!" she hit him, hard. The both joined their brother. "What? I eventually found you."

"Three entire days…I spent three days in that damn puppet!"

"Not like you starved to death; besides, you could stand to cut back a little now." She gave a battle cry.

And the chase was back on. Wind blast flying ever which way and needles exploding in all directions. He couldn't kill them, they were his family and that whole 'don't kill unless necessary' thing he had promised them, he wanted to be a man of his word. Unfortunately, he couldn't leave them alone back in Suna either, chances are it would be ash before he returned; Gaara could only hope they didn't ruin another mission with their childish behavior. "I need a vacation."

* * *

**Inside Mansion **

* * *

Another physician was sent flying across the room.

"Jericho-san, I can't help you if you keep knocking out all my medics."

Jericho growled at the man, the head medic, and the smartest medic, he was the only medic who hasn't been sent across the room by the fuming stone nin. The room already held seven men and women, all wearing white medical coats and all very much unconscious. Jericho was all to willing to add the man to the pile.

"Then make it hurt less!"

The man sighed. "Jericho-san, you have a dislocated shoulder and a number of thick splinters deeply pierced you skin. If we could make it hurt any less, we would."

"Just hurry up."

"I thought ninja were supposed to be able to bear most pain." He quickly realized his words and jumped back before he was sent to join his comrades.

"Hurry up!" he shouted, causing the medic to jump.

"Yes." He continued his work, slowly removing the long wood splinters from Jericho's shoulder. "Whats with the kid?"

Jericho looked over to the unmasked spiky haired speed demon, gritting his teeth as another splinter was removed. The kid had done a real number on him; during the fight, he hadn't even noticed he was bleeding; must have been from when he was sent through the roof.

"Don't worry about the kid, just give him some antitoxins and something to make him sleep for a while."

The doctor nodded, not wanting to cause himself more problems by asking unnecessary questions.

* * *

**Outside Mansion **

* * *

"Yes Kazekage-sama, the team from Konoha should have exited from the mansion yesterday. We're good to go." The Kazekage nodded, he wasn't too big on words, before moving over to the outer gates of the mansion, using a platform of sand to avoid the traps.

"Gaara seems happy." Temari said out of nowhere.

Kankuro looked from his sister to his brother, noting the small smirk across his lips. "Well, how ofter does he get to get out of that stuffy office."

"Yea," she added softly. "How do you deal with it, you work in that office almost as much as Gaara."

"Oh," he answered wickedly, grinning like a mad cat. "I have my dirty little secrets."

Temari stared at her brother like he had just gone crazy. "On second thought, maybe I don't want to know." The two refocused on their brother, who was beginning to stand on his floating platform.

Gaara looked back, receiving nods from all his subjects. Rising to his feet, he took a moment to calm himself; this was going to be big.

Kankuro and Temari looked to each other, getting each other huge grins before running to their respective positions, eager to start their demolition of the ignorant people who dared to think they could threaten Suna.

Seeing his force move into position, Gaara began, forming numerous endless hand seals, summoning more charka than he had in a long time; last time he used this jutsu he needed to eliminate a sharp bone in his side, it didn't work then but he had a confident feeling it would work now. For a while, nothing happened, then a sudden burst of wind surrounded the experienced sand nin; behind him, a large wave of sand, rocks, and miscellaneous debris rose, higher and higher until it towered over him and the mansion.

A few lucky souls saw the wave in time, or at the least the shadow of it, alerting other to it presence by running in the opposite direction towards the only other exit of the compound other then the one the wave was coming over, only to be blown back into the range of the wave of sand by a fierce blast of wind. Being knocked back repeatedly didn't do much to parry the guard's thoughts on their rather simple escape plan.

They all stopped in the tracks when one actually made it past the rapid blast of wind only to be skewered by a long spear. The man tried to pull himself from the spear, which was firmly planted through his left side and into the ground, but found the action fruitless as two more spears impaled through his body, ending his life.

"Where all gonna die!" One yelled.

"The mansion!" Another yelled, making a mad dash for the only hope of protection their simple minds could find.

"Do they really think that mansion is going to survive Gaara?" Temari asked, leaning on her battle fan. "And Kankuro, you need to work on you aim, three shots to kill him, what the hell."

Kankuro jumped from his hiding spot among the trees, landing next to her before kicking her fan from under her, making her face plant for the second time today. "Let them have their little hope, it'll do them no good in the end."

"Bastard!"

"No time," the fan was only millimeters from his head. "get ready." Just as he said it, dozens of guards came crashing through the windows of the top floor; landing gracefully, half sprinted towards their direction while the others stood their ground in way of the approaching wave.

"More guards?" Temari asked, reluctantly halting her attack, payback would come later, to get a better look at the second wave of guards.

"Yeah, but these won't be as limited as the first group." He jumped back into the trees, getting ready to take down any enemy should they get past Temari widespread windblasts.

She opened her fan, hoisting it over her shoulders and bringing it around swiftly, sending a blast directly through the middle of the advancing troop, causing them to separate to avoid the attack. She sent a second attack at the right most group; this time more widespread, catching them off guard with the wider attack and blowing most of them back a great distance.

She spied the second group from the corner of her eyes, they were close, closer then she initially thought they would be by now. "Kankuro, any time you ready." She whispered to herself nervously, taking a few timid steps backwards while simultaneously sending another wind blast in their direction, trying to halt their advance.

The fastest reached her first, jumping straight at her, drawing a long dagger and swinging it in a wide arc. She used her closed fan to block the initial attack, sliding a small ways back from the force. "Kankuro!" the man dropped, kunai protruding from the back of his neck. A rain of kunai followed, flowing out from the trees like a swarm of bees, forcing the unexpecting ninja to rapidly dodge, moving away from the beautiful Shinobi. "It's over!" she used their distraction to attack. "Kamaitachi!!" she swung her fan hard, blowing a sizeable tornado over to her opponent; the tornado ensnared the unfortunate nins, hauling them into the air and inflicting numerous slices all over their bodies. The tornado subsided, leaving all her opponents in a freefall; they hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Tamari turned to the trees, right to the position she knew Kankuro was hiding. "Couldn't cut it a little closer, I felt the wind from his swing."

He jumped out of his position, landing right in front of her, not at all surprised that she was so easily able to locate his hiding spot; they have been working together on countless missions, they knew each other to a fault, the perfect team. "I got him, didn't I?" He walked away, smiling like a cat that just cornered his prey, completely unaffected by the imaginary daggers Tamari was sending at him.

* * *

**Mansion Dungeon **

* * *

Something was off, something was wrong with this whole situation, something in the air just wouldn't let Jericho kill the kid. He never killed anything without first assessing it value and something told him the kid was valuable, something told him he had seen the kid before, but where.

Blond hair and blue eyes weren't a common ninja trait, in fact, they were downright improbable to come across. As far as he knew, there were only two instances where he heard of someone with blond hair and blue eyes; both from the same village miraculously. One being the former leader of said village, but he was dead, so that was ruled out, at least for now. The other being a family of mind benders, but the kid used no mind jutsu he knew off, hell the kid didn't use any jutsu at all that that he was aware of. Just a lot of speed, not much power but enough to make it hurt. The first instance was starting to sound a lot better.

From his position across from the kids cell, he could make out the kids face; soft, smooth, maybe a little too well taken care off in his opinion. His hands and feet were bound by chains, rendering him immobile if he were to wake up, and that was a big if. With the amount of poison the kid inhaled combined with the kids weird charka system, the medics weren't sure if the antitoxins would actually work; his body seemed to reject the antitoxins as soon as they entered his body.

"Jericho-san," a young lady entered the room, one of the ninja guards who protected the inside of the mansion. "I have what you called for." She handed him a small black book.

"Thank you." He took the book, flipping through a few pages, stopping on a page with the picture of a certain silver haired copy ninja. The Black Book, a holy relic for any and all missing-nin or bounty hunters. Shows ranks, known skills, and rewards for capture of the most wanted ninja in the world; not just other missing ninja, but any ninja worth his or her weight it to another country to be dead. Few ninja even know such a list exist or if they know, they have no clue who's on it.

A audible crash was heard from upstairs, drawing both their attention upwards. "What's going on up there?" the two waited until a large rumbling was heard, being large enough to shake the foundation of the dungeon meant it had to be big. "You," he pointed to the girl. "Check it out, report to me first." She quickly bowed before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Flipping through a few more pages, he noticed what he was looking for. Flipping a page back, he found the matching picture of the kid in the cell. "Uzumaki Naruto huh," he tested. "I knew I've seen you face before." Same face build, hair was a bit longer but it was the same person. Under the picture were the words "Rank: _B_ Class: _Konoha Wandering-nin_ Preferences: _Taijutsu_ Reward: _5__00__ mill_ Wanted By: _Cloud__-Alive_" printed in big bold letters.

It didn't make any sense, why would cloud want a Konoha nin, and one of such a low rank. He must not have been tested on his skill as of late, because he was a A class missing-nin, and to lose to a B class leaf-nin, could there be anything more embarrassing.

No need to think to much about it, if cloud wanted this Uzumaki Naruto, they would get him, and he would collect the bounty, all 500 million yen worth. With this one little prize that just happened to drop into his lap, he would be set for life, he could live a dislocated shoulder, it was easily fixed; his life was turning around.

The woman from before entered the room, breathing hard. "Jericho-san! There's an attack on the mansion going on upstairs!"

'Again?' he thought franticly, his injuries weren't hindering when it came to fighting, but he wouldn't be able to swing his ax around for a few days with his sore shoulder.

The woman stood at attention. "What are your orders sir?"

He nervously bit his right thumb, already regretting the action as pain shot through arm.

"How many are there?"

"Uncertain, but from the size of the attack and the amount of charka being outputted, there are at least a dozen Ira-nins out there."

"Ira?" he stepped back tentatively.

The woman looked at her commander, fear stricken all over his face. "Not many other villages would use _Quicksand Avalanche_ as an initial attack."

'No, no, no, this can not be happening. How could they find me?' he looked around, a fruitless action. "You, grab the kid and follow me."

The girl heisted for only a moment before running over to the cell, grabbing the keys off the wall on the way. She unlocked the door and the chains attaching him to the ground but left the hand and ankle cuffs in place, hoisting him over her shoulder before following the big man.

Jericho had retrieved his ax, holding it with his left hand opposed to his right, a sign of his still injured condition. Seeing her ready to go, he moved over to the wall, pushing in a stone. a few blocks moved in response, opening up a small door in the wall, just big enough for the him to get through.

"Lets go." The two quickly entered the doorway as a stream of sand entered the basement dungeon.

* * *

**Outside Mansion **

* * *

Multiple earth spires sprouted from the ground, each either sprouting from another spire or angling itself to support another spire. The ninjas worked vigorously to build their shield of earth, their only defense from the ever-growing wave of sand.

"Foolish." Gaara pushed himself to his limit, doubling his exertion, almost making him pass out. His efforts paid off, breaking through the wall of earth and towering over the mansion for moments; his brought his hands together and the wave went slamming down on the large house. He swung his hands about, seemingly controlling the sand as if it were an extension of his body; the sand thrashed about, destroying anything that was left standing after the initial attack until all that was left was a great mound of sand. His hand rose, and closed violently, the sand following its controller, constricting in on itself. Those watching cringed, already knowing those who survived the first two attacks had little to no chance at surviving the third.

Gaara took a few ragged breaths before falling to his knees, having gone past his limits to break through the barrier of the experienced stone nins. Fire, lightning, water, wind, it didn't matter, his sand could trump any element easily without him having to exert himself to much or at all for most; but earth, earth played too much on defense. He couldn't just overpower, he had to break through, using up more energy. The reason for his dislike of Ira-nins.

_Quicksand Avalanche_, one of his most useful attacks. He could take out a small platoon with it with out problem, so long as they had no means to defend against it as most ninja had none. But unfortunately, with his supply of charka being less than it was when he was younger, it took up enough energy and charka to leave him unable to properly defend himself from multiple opponents for some time after unleashing the deathly attack.

He growled. "I hate stone ninjas." A few hands popped up from the sand, followed by the bodies of many pissed off stone nins, each with a deep scowl on their face. "Sand?" Trickles of sand fell from the nins body. 'They! They used my sand! To protect themselves!!' He really hated stone nins.

"Gaara-sama has fell, men! Protect the Kazekage till he regains his strength!" The men gave a battle cry before rushing to the aid of their fallen leader, confronting the enraged stone nins with gusto.

* * *

**Somewhere Deep in the Forest **

* * *

Jericho stopped in his tracks, sensing a large amount of charka far off. "The hell is that?" he turned back in the direction of the mansion, seeing a large; large something looming over what he assumed was the mansion he had been hired to protect.

"They're really going all out." first the kid, not this; just what had he gotten into accepting the job to guard those people. It should have been easy, ninja don't care about drug dealers unless the mess with business, or someone hires them to deal with them, so just who did those mob bosses piss off to have so many high level ninja come after them. Hunter-nins would never so openly attack and kill so freely just to capture one rouge ninja.

The girl had also followed the large charka presence, staring in disbelief at the attack so far off but so clear and visible. 'It was just supposed to be a few thieves and bandits.' She thought, rethinking ever joining the mob for a lousy paycheck; now way was paying back her family's debts worth dying for.

"Good riddance." He turned to leave, but remembered his goal as of today. Delivery of one Uzumaki to one cloud country. But with his arm the way it was, carrying the kid and his ax would be a tough job, maybe if he had gotten that ax holster, he could manage, but then, he figured it a worthless investment. Then again, he could just leave it with the flunkey to do the hard work. "You, what's you name?"

The girl turned to him, shifting the surprising lighter than expected weight on her shoulder. "Lyes." She answered.

"Well Lyes, if you carry that," he gestured towards the kid on her shoulder. "I'll cut you in on the reward."

"Really?" she beamed. "How much?"

"one hundred thousand yen."

"Of course," she said, never removing her bright smile. "I'll do it."

one hundred thousand yen went a long way for a ninja; she could pay off half her family's debts and still have enough to live on for some time. In that time, she could find another job, hopefully something a little less dangerous even if the pay will be less.

With everyone who knew his location dead, which, judging by the size of whatever that thing was, wouldn't take long, nobody could identify him, he was again a free man, taking orders from no one, at least, for now. He was once again free to prowl. The girl was nothing, the only thing standing in his way, half an ocean and one little blond kid.


End file.
